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Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) FY2025 results: revenue $9.8 billion, up 3.7% on the year

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) reported revenue of $9.8 billion for fiscal 2025, the year ended 31 December 2025, up 3.7% on the year before. Net income was $423 million, down 53.5%, and diluted earnings per share $0.92. The figures are the company's own, from the 10-K it filed with the SEC on 2 March 2026.

Revenue
$9.8 billion
+3.7% on the year
FY2018FY2025
Operating margin
15.9%
15.5% a year earlier
FY2018FY2025
Net income
$423 million
-53.5% on the year
FY2018FY2025
Diluted EPS
$0.92
-51.3% on the year
FY2018FY2025

this yearthe year beforeHover a bar for its figure.

The year in brief

What management said about the year

Guidance figures: 20 new.

  • Full-year revenue rose, GAAP earnings fell: Full-year total revenue rose 3.7% to $9.8 billion, mainly from higher Capacity Days. GAAP net income was $423.2 million against $910.3 million in 2024, with diluted EPS of $0.92.
  • Adjusted EBITDA and EPS both rose: Adjusted EBITDA rose 11% to $2.73 billion, above the $2.72 billion guidance. Adjusted EPS rose 19% to $2.11, above guidance of $2.10. Adjusted Net Income was $1.045 billion.
  • Gross margin per unit rose: Gross margin per Capacity Day rose 6.3% as reported and 7.1% in constant currency for the full year. Gross Cruise Costs per Capacity Day fell to about $294 from $304.
  • Booking environment below optimal range: Management said the company enters 2026 slightly below its optimal booking range, while longer-term demand trends remain constructive according to the release.
  • Caribbean capacity rise weighs on Q1: First-quarter Net Yield is guided down about 1.6% in constant currency, mainly from absorbing a 40% year-over-year rise in Caribbean capacity.
Read the Q4 FY2025 earnings call summary

From this 10-K

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings operates three cruise brands: Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Norwegian began sailing from Miami in 1966 with weekly departures to the Caribbean. The holding company was formed in Bermuda in February 2011, went public in January 2013, and completed the acquisition of PCI in November 2014. Late in 2023, in response to the BEPS 2.0 Pillar 2 global tax reform, the group moved many of its operations into one jurisdiction, redomiciling subsidiaries from the Isle of Man, the Cayman Islands, the Marshall Islands, Panama and Delaware to Bermuda. Its registered office is in Hamilton, Bermuda and its executive offices are in Miami.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., the 10-K for 2025

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings operates three cruise brands: Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Norwegian began sailing from Miami in 1966 with weekly departures to the Caribbean. The holding company was formed in Bermuda in February 2011, went public in January 2013, and completed the acquisition of PCI in November 2014. Late in 2023, in response to the BEPS 2.0 Pillar 2 global tax reform, the group moved many of its operations into one jurisdiction, redomiciling subsidiaries from the Isle of Man, the Cayman Islands, the Marshall Islands, Panama and Delaware to Bermuda. Its registered office is in Hamilton, Bermuda and its executive offices are in Miami.

The fleet

There were 34 ships with approximately 71,400 berths at the end of 2025, ranging from about 500 berths to over 4,000. Itineraries reach approximately 700 ports, covering Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Africa, Canada, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Alaska and Hawaii. Pride of America is United States flagged, which lets Norwegian run what the filing calls the industry's only entirely inter-island Hawaii itinerary.

Ships on order

The company says it expects to add 17 ships between 2026 and 2037. For the Norwegian brand there are three Prima Class ships scheduled from 2026 through 2028, and five further Norwegian Cruise Line ships scheduled from 2030 through 2037. Three new classes are on order beyond that: five Sonata Class ships from 2027 through 2037 and four Prestige Class ships from 2026 through 2036. The Prestige Class ships due in 2033 and 2036, and the Sonata Class ship and the Norwegian ship each due in 2037, become effective only on financing.

What each brand offers

Norwegian's ships carry up to 20 dining options on some ships, attractions including what the filing describes as the world's first hybrid rollercoaster and waterslide at sea, spas, and accommodation from studio staterooms priced for solo travellers up to suites in The Haven. Oceania is built around open-seating dining and destination-focused itineraries, and from 7 January 2026 it takes only guests aged 18 and over on new reservations for future voyages. Regent sells an all-inclusive fare: unlimited shore excursions in every port, a pre-cruise hotel night in Concierge Suites and above, specialty dining, unlimited premium drinks, prepaid gratuities, unlimited Wi-Fi and valet laundry.

The two private islands

The company operates Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas and Harvest Caye in Belize. Great Stirrup Cay has been under construction: one side of a two-berth pier, a resort-style pool, a splash pad and the adults-only Vibe Shore Club opened in 2025, and the company says it expects the second berth and the Great Tides Waterpark, nearly six acres with 19 slides, an 800-foot river and a 9,000-square-foot children's splash zone, to open in summer 2026. Harvest Caye offers kayaking, snorkelling, zip-lining and trips to nearby Mayan ruins.

Where the money comes from

Ticket prices generally cover the fare, meals, entertainment, a range of onboard activities and government taxes, fees and port expenses, and on some fares also return airfare, drinks, shore excursions, internet, laundry and pre- or post-cruise hotel and land packages; the price varies with itinerary, length, stateroom category, inclusions and time of year. Onboard and other spending covers what is not in the fare: casino, certain food and drink, shore excursions, gift shops, spa and communications. Food and beverage, casino and shore excursions are run by the company itself, while retail shops, spa services, art auctions and communications may be run by outside concessionaires that pay a percentage of their gross sales. Cashless point-of-sale systems support the onboard selling.

Insurance and people

Beyond hull and machinery cover, insurance includes protection and indemnity for passenger, crew and third-party liabilities and pollution, war and terrorism risk, and shoreside property, cybersecurity, directors and officers and general liability. War risk policies can be cancelled by underwriters on seven days' notice if the risk changes, which the filing notes is typical for marine cover. At the end of 2025 the company employed approximately 5,300 full-time shoreside staff and approximately 39,200 shipboard staff, with Regent's and Oceania's ships using a third party for extra hotel and restaurant staffing. Most shipboard pay is set in collective bargaining agreements, and a $18 an hour minimum applies to non-commission shoreside staff in the United States.

From Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings' annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025. The filing

Written from the 10-K filed 2 March 2026: read the full 10-K.

The four quarters: Q1 FY2025 · Q2 FY2025 · Q3 FY2025 · Q4 FY2025

Income statement (profit and loss)

$ millionFY2025FY2024FY2023On the yearLast 8 years
Revenue9,8289,4808,550+3.7%
Cost of revenue5,6395,6895,469-0.9%
Gross profit4,1883,7913,081+10.5%
Gross margin42.6%40.0%36.0%
Selling, general and administrative1,5491,4351,342+7.9%
Operating income1,5611,466931+6.5%
Operating margin15.9%15.5%10.9%
Interest expensen/an/a728
Pre-tax income429773163-44.5%
Income tax5.5-137-3.0
Effective tax rate1.3%-17.8%-1.8%
Net income423910166-53.5%
Net margin4.3%9.6%1.9%
Diluted EPS$0.92$1.89$0.39-51.3%
$ million except per share.
Read moreFree cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Those four are arithmetic on the filed numbers; everything else is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and share counts are as they are.

Cash flow

$ millionFY2025FY2024FY2023On the yearLast 8 years
Operating cash flow2,0902,0502,006+1.9%
Capital expenditure3,2601,2112,750+169.2%
Free cash flow-1,170839-745
Free cash flow margin-11.9%8.8%-8.7%
Cash from investing-3,265-1,229-2,897
Cash from financing1,194-1,032347
Depreciation and amortisation1,162974883+19.4%
Share-based compensation88.491.8119-3.7%
Diluted shares, weighted478m515m427m-7.2%
Shares outstanding at period end455m440m426m+3.5%

Balance sheet

$ millionFY2025FY2024FY2023On the yearLast 8 years
Shareholders' equity2,2101,425301+55.0%
Debt14,60613,10014,059+11.5%
Operating lease liabilities898789645+13.8%
Other liabilities4,8274,6554,489+3.7%
Total liabilities and equity22,54119,97019,493+12.9%
Fixed assets19,06916,81116,433+13.4%
Goodwill13613698.10.0%
Intangible assets5015015010.0%
Cash and equivalents210191402+10.0%
Receivables292221280+31.7%
Inventory138150158-7.7%
Other assets2,1971,9611,621+12.0%
Total assets22,54119,97019,493+12.9%

10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025, filed 2 March 2026: the filing.